Brother from Another Dimension
by Shield Lightning
Summary: An interdimensional traveler is on a routine mission, when everything goes haywire, leading him to meet a certain young mouse inventor. Together, can they defeat an evil warrior and save the dimension itself? Please R&R.
1. Mission Start

_Jake (the kangaroo mouse from The Rescuers Down Under), Monterey Jack, Gadget, and Geegaw Hackwrench are exclusive property of Disney. The Goodfeathers (Squit, Pesto, and Bobby) are exclusive property of Warner Bros. Men in Black and all Men in Black references are exclusive property of Columbia Pictures. These properties are used for the sole purpose of personal entertainment and are not be used for any personal gain whatsoever. _

_All other content is exclusive property the author. These properties are to be used only by me and those given permission to use my properties. Feel free to contact me with any ideas._

_**Lightning Warrior Commission Database: Personnel File**_

_**Taryn Corin-Johnston**_

_The son of the greatest dark warrior of all time, Taryn Corin-Johnston was a true prodigy. His powers matured at the young age of 12, and he even surpassed his teachers by 15. This caused growing resentment from his peers, who ridiculed him mercilessly. By the age of 20, he led a solitary, reclusive life, preferring to train over socializing, which made him a perfect candidate to test a radical new technology: inter-dimensional travel. In the newly formed LWC Temporal and Inter-dimensional Protection Agency (TIPA), he quickly became the top operative, having gone on over 80 missions by the age of 24. He would have continued with this lifestyle had he not had a fateful encounter with a young inventor on what was considered a routine mission. This chance meeting would set into motion a course of events that would change his life forever…_

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**Chapter 1: Mission Start**

"What've you got for me?" A tall, blond young man asked as he stood in front of a wooden desk in a small office. Behind the desk, sat a slightly-shorter, pudgy but no less strong looking man, and behind him was a large window that looked down upon a busy hall full of workers running around doing all sorts of things.

"You see those people in jumpsuits down there? They work here, too! We got it covered!" The man behind the desk said with a slight hint of anger.

"Come on, Chief!" The young man hit the desk with his fist.

"Watch it, Taryn, or I'll have you reprimanded!" The Chief yelled, almost coming out of his seat, but settled back down when he saw the look on Taryn's face, then continued. "Look, I promised your father that I would look after you, make sure you stay safe! You have been going on mission after mission for some time now. You are taking this too seriously. I'm worried about you. You need a break! Besides, we don't have any urgent missions."

"Please, Chief! I need this! This is all I have!" Taryn pleaded.

The Chief caved in. "But…Oh…alright! I have one mission. It's routine, but it's something. Just promise me you'll take a break as soon as you get back!"

"Promise. What do you got?"

"I warn you, it's routine. We've got surge in the number of temporal sprites in the RR117 dimension. It's a simple mission, capture the sprites and return them here for containment. You're in and out maybe a week. I was going to hold off on this, but since you are desperate…"

"Thanks, Chief!" Taryn took the mission folder from the Chief's desk and was off in a flash.

The Chief sighed, and turned toward a picture on the wall. In it was himself standing next to Taryn's father, Ty. They were laughing as a young Taryn was latched to his father's leg. "Forgive me, old friend." He laughed. "But if he doesn't kill himself, I just may!"

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Taryn tore into the locker room. He opened his locker to prepare to his mission. Hanging inside was a gray jumpsuit with black stripes down the arms and legs. It was specially designed to handle the rigors of inter-dimensional travel. Next thing to go on were a black pair of boots and a pair of fingerless leather gloves.

Next, there was a belt with all manner of supplies attached to it. An emergency power cell, in case he needed a charge. _I doubt I'll need this, _he thought, _but better safe than sorry._ Next to it was a pouch full of a variety of pills. A few pain killers, anti-poison, some food pills, and a bottle of protein pills. People asked him why he carried those. He was, of course, a vegetarian, so he needed his supplements.

Next to that was his weapon, an extendable staff. It was quite advanced, extending from a length of six inches to over four feet. He was very skilled at the use of his staff, having trained in the martial arts with his father and the Chief.

On the other side was another pouch, this one with two small bottles of super water. One sip of this stuff could quench your thirst instantly. It sure came in handy during the FC023 Sahara mission.

Then, there was the Chief's little contribution to his gear, the M-14 Thunder Blaster. He made them standard issue, and Taryn has a sneaking suspicion that the Chief did that because of him. He didn't like lethal weapons, preferring to incapacitate the enemy so that he could bring them in. The Chief also made the headset communicator and ocular scanner standard.

His final bit of equipment was the most important. The D-controller was a marvel of its time. Consisting of multiple devices rolled into one, the gauntlet consisted of five devices. One was the bio-controller. It not only allowed for the wearer to blend in to the native population, but it also gave the wearer the ability to change into any species he wanted. It comes in handy on those stealthy missions. Next was the digimetric capture device, which was the way that Taryn planned on capturing those pesky sprites. Then there is the time bender, which while it allowed for time travel into the past, it only had enough power for a jump of two hours. And the neuralizer, named for the fictional Men in Black device. It didn't look anything like the sleek little device that Agents K and J used, but it produced the same effect.

But the most important part of the controller was the immediate dimensional tear return device, more affectionately called the "ticket home." While generating an inter-dimensional tear is simple, making it safe for travel is hard. Add onto that the targeting technology requires the use of the LWC mainframe; the return device had to be streamlined. All that there was in the controller was a tear generator and a link locator. That was the secret. Links had to be maintained by home base to stabilize the tear.

Taryn got finished just in time to look up and see a tall, dark-haired man standing in the doorway. He was dressed in the same uniform as him, except his stripes were purple. He spoke first.

"You gonna let any of us have any jobs, or you just gonna do 'em all yourself?" He said, with a cocky tone.

"Not now, Rez. I'm busy." Taryn snapped back.

"Oh, come on, Taryn! You need a life, man!" Rez Whitcraft was the second-best operative, and didn't like it. "I need these missions to beat your record."

"Maybe if you didn't spend so much time off, you would have more missions."

"Maybe if your father wasn't friends with Chief, you'd…" Rez paused in thought, and then continued, "Besides, you know I have a family. You do too, maybe they'd like to see you every once in a while."

"Whatever."

"Maybe your father wants another grandchild, one who carries his name." Rez had struck a nerve. Taryn immediately turned away and started to leave. "Hey, I'm not finished!"

"But I am!" With that, Taryn left the room.

"By the Power, he's hopeless."

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Across town, in a shady area of town, shady people were meeting, as they do. But this time, they were meeting with more than just designs of stealing precious gems or selling illegal weapons. The Dark Thunder Coalition (or rather, what was left of it) was meeting by orders of their temporary leader. He was a tall man, and he wore a long, dark coat. He spoke with a rasp.

"Is everything ready?" He said to his subordinates.

"Yes, boss. It's all here." One of the lackeys pointed to two of the other lackeys who were carrying in a large metal case. "We got it this morning."

"I bet that TIPA is searching their store rooms high and low for this." One of the lackeys grunted as they set down the case.

"That would be true, if we didn't have a man on the inside." The boss approached the case. "Well, open it!"

The two lackeys lifted the lid off of the case, and inside was a set of TIPA issue overalls and equipment.

"These are pieces to the puzzle. Once inside we'll disable their operations, we will go to one of the dimensions and use the key to bring our leader back, and then, the world will be ours!"

"Yeah, but how are we going to do that, boss?"

He smacked the back of the lackeys' heads. "You fools, did I not explain this before. We wait for the signal from the insider who will let us in. We steal the mainframe's information, plant a few bombs, and get through one of the gates before blowing that too! Try to remember that!"

"Oh, yeah."

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"OK, Taryn, it's time." A technician said to Taryn as he sat there, waiting for the preparations for the doorway to be opened. It wasn't a complicated process; it just took a little time. Taryn stood up, and headed toward the archway. The technician continued "Now, remember, go in, find the sprites, and get out. We'll be waiting for you on this end."

"OK. I'm ready." Taryn loved this part. The archway began to hum and in a brilliant flash of light, a doorway was opened to the RR117 dimension. Taryn was about to step in when he heard a familiar voice.

"So, you just going to go of on another mission." The man who said that appeared from a shadow, and everyone was quiet.

"Dad, I'm fine, don't try to stop me." Taryn turned to face his father, Ty Corin-Johnston. Immediately behind him was the Chief.

"Bastion here tells me that you have been on missions for nine months straight now. Haven't you heard of a thing called 'burnout'?"

"I promised him already I would take a break after this."

"Yeah, just like the last time, and the time before that, and the time before that. Son, I want you to be happy, but doing this constantly isn't safe for you!" Ty had concern on his voice.

"I know, dad. I'm fine. Really!"

"I won't tell you what to do. You have to follow your own path. But I can't just sit idly by as you walk a path to destruction."

"Dad, I promise to you, I will take a break as soon as I come back."

"You better, or your mom will tear my head off!"

"Seeya!" Taryn immediately turn toward the archway and charged. He ran through the gate, and arrived in another dimension.

"I hope he understands that I love him so much." Ty said to his friend.

"I'm sure he does, Ty. He just has a lot to work out."

"I hope he works it out soon. His mom will really kill me!"

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Taryn found himself in dimension RR117. He immediately received a message from the Chief.

"Taryn, come in!" The Chief's voice rang out on the radio headset.

"Yeah, I made it. It seems quiet here." Taryn responded.

"Just start finding those sprites and get back here."

"Roger! I think I have my first one now!"

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	2. TIPA Attacked!

**Chapter 2: TIPA Attacked**

"Don't drop that, you dunderhead!" The boss said to his followers as they approached the door to the main building of TIPA. "You want to send us all up!"

"No sir!" He said as he got a better grip on the package he carried.

"Besides, we wouldn't want to break our little gift for the Lightning Warriors, now would we?" The boss said with a quick smile. "Now, let's get inside!"

"But boss, it's a fortress, how do we get in unnoticed?" One of his other lackeys said as he looked through the windows of the building.

"You'll get in over here, you idiots!" A voice called them over to a side door. "Hurry up! The next security patrol will be here any minute!"

"There's our ticket! Is everything ready?"

"Just as you requested, master! The virus is set to go off as soon as we finish the procedure."

"I heard a mission went out. I thought I told you to make sure we had a window open."

"I got the council hold off the missions, but one slipped through. It doesn't matter, once the mainframe goes down and we sever the links, he won't be any trouble."

"Excellent! Let's proceed with the plan."

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Taryn was over an airfield near a city known as Metropolitan Heights in that dimension, when he finally found the last temporal sprite. "I got you now!"

The sprites were the unfortunate effect of inter-dimensional travel. They were demons from the Underverse that had been released accidentally when the dimensional seal was broken. Some were hideous, but this one seemed…harmless…cute even! This is what Taryn thought as the little devil smacked him in the head with its tail.

"That was sneaky! Oh well, seeya! CAPTURE!" Taryn activated his digimetric capture device and aimed it at the sprite. With a howl, the sprite became ensnared in the light net and immediately was drawn into the device's internal tank. It's a good thing that it was nighttime, because this was a spectacle. "Whew! There we go! Last one!" Then, activating his radio headset, "Taryn to base, mission complete, over."

He heard nothing but static on the line. He tried again. "Taryn to base, do you copy?" Again, nothing. "This isn't good!"

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"Well, well, well! Working late, aren't you?" The boss said to a technician whose throat he currently had in his hand. "You could come in handy. Tell me, where can I download your precious research information from?"

In a half choked voice, "Terminal…there!" He pointed to a terminal across the room. The boss dragged the technician with him.

He looked to the insider. "Well, any time!"

"Yes, master!" He responded simply and immediately started typing the keyboard. "Here it is." He placed a reader on the terminal uplink and started the download. Suddenly, the screen went blank. At the same time, an explosion went off. "Crap! What was that?"

"Those idiots! They blew the bomb too early!" The boss said as he looked out of the control room window at the archway as it fell to the ground. "NOOOOOOO! My plan! It's ruined!"

"The mainframe is down! I can't get anything!"

"NOOOOOOOOO! Curses! Curses!!! CURSES!!!!!!" The boss's hand tightened around the technician's throat. "You better tell me there's another archway!"

"No, none." The technician choked out, and as the boss's fist raised up, "but we have an experimental jet. It has inter-dimensional technology, but it hasn't been tested!"

"Well, it's about to be!" The boss released his grip on the technician. He looked to the insider. "Where is it?"

"Hangar 15. We have to run; the guards will be coming soon."

"Let's go, now."

"What about him?" The insider pointed to the technician.

"We don't need him." The boss charged an energy shot in his hand, and blasted the technician through the chest. He fell limp.

As they left the control room, an alarm went off. "WARNING. WARNING. LINK SEVERED. WARNING…"

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Taryn's controller started to spark. "What the…AHHHHHHHH!" The D-controller began to shake Taryn wildly. _What is going on!_ He thought. The D-controller began to thrash him about, and he felt as though he was instantly in a rodeo, and the D-controller was the bull. His body was helpless to stop the device's movements.

Then, the bio-controller accidentally activated. He felt the bio-controller begin to turn him into some animal, and began to shrink. As the world grew around him, he felt a strange sensation from his back end.

The D-controller raised him high into the sky, maybe a hundred feet. He floated there for a second as the D-controller began to calm down. Suddenly, it exploded violently, sending him crashing into the ground in front of an old, broken down airplane hull.

As he lay there, to his surprise, a small light went on in the airplane. He thought he was seeing things; the plane must have been junked. Just then, a small door opened in the front of the cabin. A blond female came out through the door and ran towards him. She stopped in front of him.

"Golly!" She asked "Are you alright?"

"Ugh…you've got big ears!" And Taryn blacked out.

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"Well, did you get any information?" The boss asked as they flew the experimental aircraft through the air.

"I'm looking, I'm looking! Here, I've got one! Key information, name, species, and dimension coordinates. It's not much, but…uh-oh!" A tone of concern came over the insider's voice.

"What do you mean 'uh-oh'?" The boss asked. The insider remained silent. "Well, OUT WITH IT!"

"It's the dimension. It's the same as the one Taryn went to!"

"ARGH! YOU SAID IT WAS NOTHING! YOU SAID HE WOULDN'T BE ANY TROUBLE!" The boss's anger grew.

"And he won't be. I'll take care of that!" The insider said in a sinister tone. "I've been waiting for this for a long time!"

"You take care of him, while I find the key, and use its power to open the lock and revive our fallen leader." The boss cackled. "Tell me the information."

"All it says is that the key is a great pilot, species mus musculus? It's a mouse, master!" A puzzled look came over the insider's face. "How could a mouse be a great pilot?"

"It's the dimensions; you should know that anything is possible. These D-controllers will come in handy. What's the name?"

"All it says is 'Hackwrench.' Interesting name."

And with a blinding flash, the craft produced a dimensional tear in the air in front of itself. It then created a link between their current dimension and RR117, their destination. They plunged through the tear, and were gone.

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	3. Gadget's Blackmail

**Chapter 3: Gadget's Blackmail**

Light shone in through the skylight above him. Taryn felt like he'd been through a blender. He then remembered what had happened. He looked down to his arm in fear of what he'd see, and was surprised to see that while his arm was heavily bandaged, it was more or less intact. He let out a sigh of relief, and laid back into the bed. _How did I get here? _He asked himself. _Come to think of it, where is here?_ He remembered that he had just captured a sprite…THE SPRITES! He just realized that his D-controller was gone. _I hope that whoever has it doesn't plan on fiddling with it!_ He tried to stand up, and felt a sharp pain in his side. _Must be broken ribs. Better fix that!_

"Purifying Shadows!" He yelled as he held a hand over his ribs. Nothing happened. "What the…? PURIFYING SHADOWS!" He yelled again, louder, but again to no avail. "What happened? That should have worked. Dang it!"

He struggled to stand, got to his feet, and immediately keeled over backward. He stood up again, and found it hard to keep his balance, but managed to maintain it. Looking behind him, he saw a large, furry tail almost as tall as he was. He saw a mirror across the room. He slowly approached the mirror, concentrating all he could just to managed a mangled-looking walk, and saw that he had indeed been turned into a squirrel. _Just another reason to find the D-controller and get home!_

He looked around. He saw the bed; it was made of a few sponges and pencils for bedposts. There was a dresser made of matchboxes. On top of it was his jumpsuit…_Wait! I'm naked! _He looked down and remembered he was now covered in fur. _I'll put them on, anyway. A little bit of normalcy._

After he modified his jumpsuit to allow for a tail, he put it on, and started to feel just a little better. He pulled a food pellet out of the belt and ate it, then took a sip of the super water. He felt stronger immediately. _Gotta give those bookworms in R&D a pat on the back for that one,_ he thought.

Suddenly, the door to the room swung open; a blond-haired mouse in lavender coveralls stood in the doorway. She held a tray with in her hands. She looked up at him.

"Good to see you're awake." She said, moving toward him.

He reached for his staff, and demanded, "Who are you? What do you want? What have you done with my D-controller?"

"Um…let see…Gadget Hackwrench, to feed you breakfast, and, if you're talking about that device that was on your arm, it's in my workshop." The little mouse sure was peppy. He slowly sat down on the bed. "Yeah, that should cover it. What's next…Oh yeah! What's your name?" She held out her hand.

Taryn was puzzled. What was he going to do? Accept her as friend…or foe? He responded, "Taryn," electing not to shake her hand, and waited for her response.

"Well, you better eat! I brought you some breakfast." Gadget sat the tray next to him on the bed. It had a thimble of orange juice and a small plate with berries on it.

Taryn patted hit belt. "I've got all I need right here," pointing to the pouch which had the food pills in it.

"Food pills don't compare to real food, now do they?"

_How did she know?_ He thought. "You've been through my things?"

"Well, that, and the fact that the pouch says 'Food Pills.'" She pointed to the embossed lettering on the pouch, which indeed read 'Food Pills.'

"Oh. Well that doesn't explain why you took my clothes off!"

"I had to bandage you up. I couldn't very well do that with you in that jumpsuit, now could I?"

_She had a point. And she doesn't seem all that threatening, she's actually quite nice. Reminds me of my sister, _he thought, and then said, "OK, I'm Taryn Corin-Johnston. Thank you for helping me, and I'm sorry about my sternness. But it seems I'm in trouble. That device you mentioned is a D-controller. It is what links me to my home dimension."

"You're an inter-dimensional traveler? Wow! Fascinating! How does it work?" Gadget's interest had indeed been peaked. She anticipated his words, but was about to be disappointed.

"I don't know, exactly. I'm just a jump jockey." He of course knew exactly how it worked, but did not want to tell her. He reached for the orange juice, to have it abruptly taken away by a now angry little mouse.

"Well, if you don't want to tell me, I'll keep my food for myself!" She spied over her shoulder at him, a smile spreading across her face.

Taryn admitted to himself, that while he wasn't that hungry because of the food pill, she was right. Nothing beats real food. "Oh…alright! I doubt you'll understand most of it, anyway. Just give me the food, please!" She handed him the tray, and he took a big drink of the orange juice. _Fresh squeezed! Wow! This is good!_ Next thing he knew, Gadget had pulled up a chair and had a notebook and pencil in her hands, eagerly awaiting his words.

Taryn began to explain. First his life and his time with TIPA, then he went over the "short version" of how inter-dimensional travel worked, Gadget writing it all down feverishly in her little notebook. The D-controller, and all of its devices, including the bio-controller, and how he had become a squirrel. His staff, the Thunder Blaster, everything. _Not that she'll remember any of this. I'll keep the neuralizer to myself, for now._

He looked up as he finished, and she looked at him and said, "Interesting. So the mainframe maintains a link between here and wherever you come from by way of the sub-atomic transducer which in turn stabilizes the doorway by negating the anti-matter turbulence, thereby creating a safe doorway to and from here?"

_Huh? How did she get it? I took me three months to fully understand it. And I talked to the creator! _Taryn thought in amazement. _She must have a mind-bashingly high IQ! _"You understood all of that?"

"Sure, I do have a mind-bashingly high IQ!" She seemed to repeat his thoughts. Now she really reminded him of his sister.

"So, if you're so smart, do you think you can fix the D-controller?" He asked, hoping beyond hope that she could.

"I sure can try."

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The HighTide Bar was a humble little place on the harbor. It had a few booths around the outer wall, four tables sat in the center, and at the back wall was the short bar. There were decorations, though nothing to flashy, just a few pictures of ships and old sea captains on the walls. It was, however, kept very clean. Tables were spotless, the windows were crystal clear: the place didn't even smell bad!

The bar was mostly empty, save a few patrons, and the hired muscle in the corner. They kept the place in line during peak hours when the rowdiest of the rowdy stopped by for a drink. But during the day, it was pretty quit, so they just sat in the corner booth of the bar.

People didn't know of its existence, mainly because it didn't serve people. It was an animal bar, and was the perfect place to start searching for a mouse.

The door opened, and a shadowy figure entered the place.

The barkeep, an aged turtle, came out from the back, and asked "What can I get you, stranger?"

The stranger sat down at the bar, his long rat tail settling to the floor. "Any information about a pilot named 'Hackwrench.'"

"Who wants to know?" The barkeep asked defensively as he waved over the bouncers.

The rat immediately stood up from the bar stool. One of the bruisers, a mole, grabbed him by the shoulder. "A very angry rat, who can easily take out your boys here, if you don't give me the information I'm looking for."

"Really?" The other bruiser, a rather muscular rabbit, chimed in. "Why don't we test that?"

"OK!" The rat said, and grabbed the mole by his arm and flung him over his shoulder, right into a set of bar stools, which broke under his weight. The rabbit grabbed him around the torso, and squeezed, which didn't even faze him. He cocked his head back, and cracked the rabbit in the nose, bloodying it. He then turned to the rabbit, and kicked him in the head, knocking him out.

The mole had just started to stand back up, when the rat turned to him and picked him up the rest of the way. He lifted the mole off of his feet, and tossed him aside like he was a ragdoll. He then turned to the turtle, which now stood in front of the bar with a steel bar. The turtle hauled up and swung the bar at the rat. The rat lifted a hand and grabbed the bar from the turtle, then bent it into a pretzel. He then swiped a claw at the turtle's shell, which didn't cut but landed so hard it knocked the turtle off of his feet.

The rat picked up the turtle by the neck. "Now, you don't want me to get angry. So I advise you to tell me what you know about this 'Hackwrench' fellow."

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"So, you're here because you were on a routine mission, and suddenly your way home went haywire?" Gadget asked as she entered her workshop.

"Yeah, that's pretty much it." Taryn responded, following behind her. "I have no idea what happened on the other side to cause this, but I have to find out."

"Well, maybe we can find something out from the D-controller." She said pointing at the busted heap of charred metal.

"Oh, tell me the capture device didn't rupture!" Taryn pleaded as he picked up his mangled D-controller. To his relief, the digimetric capture device was still functional. A few button presses revealed its precious cargo to still be intact; twenty temporal sprites, ready for containment. "Thank god! I really didn't want to have to do that again."

"It looks like your arm took the force of the blast and protected the capture device. Is it really that important?"

"You better believe it! I spent the better part of a week tracking all of those little suckers down. I'd be really ticked if I had to do that again!" Taryn turned the D-controller over to look at the damage. He had indeed been lucky his arm wasn't blown clean off. "Gotta love being a lightning warrior! Well, you think you can do anything with this?"

"It looks like the bio-controller and the return device are totaled, and I think the time bender has a short, so it's not functional either. I think I can stabilize the rest of it, though. I just don't know what this is?" She pointed to a spot on the D-controller.

"I don't know. Never used that before." Taryn responded.

"Right."

"What?"

"Nothing!"

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	4. Dat's It!

**Chapter 4: "Dat's It!"**

A crow flew up to a lone rat sitting at the end of a pier. The rat looked at the crow. "You found Taryn yet?"

"No, Master." The insider bowed to his master, and continued. "He's either shrewd or hurt, because I just can't pick up his power signature."

"You better find him. I will not have my mission stopped by that little whelp." The boss said, looking to the west. "Destroy him, and anyone around him."

"Yes master." The insider looked up at his master. "Where are you headed?"

"Australia." And with that, he took off into the sky like a streak.

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It was noontime. The sun beat down on the aircraft graveyard. It was another beautiful day. A mouse and a squirrel were walking between the rusting hulks, the squirrel was burdened with little airplane parts.

"So…ugh…is this what you do most days?" Taryn struggled with the load.

"Yeah. I usually do it myself." Gadget was looking for something. "It's my alone time. I enjoy it. Sometimes I come across some really neat stuff. And since I have you here, I might be able to get something I've had my eyes on for a long time."

"So, now I'm your pack mule?" Taryn joked. "What next?"

"Well, how about being my excavator!" She was pointing to a half-buried electric motor. "I've been trying to get my hands on that for months, ever since I found it. But it's buried…and it's heavy."

"And you think I can dig it out." He said, setting the other parts down.

"Well, I'll help." Gadget pulled a couple of shovels out of her knapsack. She handed one to Taryn.

"I guess we ought to get started." Taryn dug his shovel in next to the motor.

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"By the power, where is he? Master will destroy me if I don't take care of this!" The insider said to himself as he flew overhead, scanning the city looking for Taryn. He continued to look through his ocular scanner to see if he could get any signal. Nothing. Not even the faintest blip. _Could he be dead? _He thought. _Even if he was, I would need proof to take back to master. _He shook his head. _No, not this one! He's too tough to be dead. He's out there somewhere._

He touched down on a statue for a quick rest. No sooner than he touched down, a group of pigeons sauntered up to him.

"Hey, you! Dat's our statue! Get off!" The shortest of the three yelled up.

The insider just sat there, still scanning the sky.

"Hey! I'm talkin' to ya! Ya gonna get offa our statue, or do I hafta to get rough." The angry pigeon yelled again.

The insider let out a small chuckle, and continued to scan the sky.

"Oh! Am I funny to ya! Is dat it? Am I a clown, sent here to amuse you? Am I a comedian to you? Is dat it?" The pigeon quickly was loosing his temper.

"Come on, Pesto, he's obviously not listening!" One of the other pigeons tried to calm his friend down.

"No, Squit, this time, Pesto's right. This is our statue, and we're gonna fight for it." The third and tallest member of the group said.

"Dat's what I'm talkin' about, Bobby!" Pesto said. "Let's show dis guy who's boss!"

"I wouldn't. I have no qualms with you." The insider said. Then he looked down at the Goodfeaters. "Besides, I'll toss you around like nothing." Then he looked back to the sky.

"Dat's it!" Pesto screamed, and flew up for the insider. The crow didn't seem to notice this. _I got 'im right where I want 'im. _Pesto thought.

At that, the insider took one step to the right, avoiding Pesto altogether, sending him sailing over the back of the statue.

"Wow, he's good!" Squit said in amazement.

"After I'm done with 'im, your next, Squit!" Pesto said as he charged again for the insider, this time from behind.

The insider again stepped to the side, this time to the left. As Pesto passed by, the insider grabbed him by the back of the neck. He then threw Pesto down the front of the statue. Pesto landed in front of his friends with an astounding thud!

"Hey, Pesto, you alright?" Squit asked his fallen friend.

"Crap! He isn't here, either. Better check the south side." The insider said as he took off.

"Yeah, you betta' run!" Pesto yelled as he looked up at the departing crow.

"Uh, Pesto, I think he got the better of you!" Squit said.

"Yeah? Well, I'll get the betta' of you!" Pesto then started fighting with Squit. Bobby started laughing at the spectacle.

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After Taryn and Gadget got back from their little expedition, they were beat. From the shoveling to the lifting, they worked hard. Gadget had to scrounge up the parts for a makeshift sled to get it all back. As soon as they got back, Gadget collapsed from exhaustion. Taryn carried her off to her room, and put her in her bed. He then made his way to the room he had been staying in.

_It's a real shame I have to erase her memory. _Taryn thought. _She's starting to grow on me. Like a little sister. Like my real sisters._

He opened the door to the room he was staying in. _I've never felt this way about anyone but my family. Except…_

He thought back to his childhood. On his fifth birthday, his father introduced him to some guy. "Son, I'd like you to meet Bastion Kilmartin. He's an old friend of mine."

Bastion knelt down in front of Taryn. "Hey there, little man. Your father named me as your godfather. You know what that means?"

Taryn shook his head.

"Well, that means I'm another person that can give you gifts." Bastion pulled a box out from behind his back. It had a bow on it.

Taryn tore open the box and pulled out a small rod. "What is it, daddy?"

"Got me? Bastion?" Ty looked to his friend.

"That, kid, is genuine Crasson Series 1 extending staff. Crafted by the great inventor himself. He made three of these. One is in the LWC museum, one is in the Louvre, and the final one got lost over the Antarctic. I spent five months looking for that just so I could give it to you."

"Wow." Taryn said, excited.

"Press that button right there." Bastion pointed to a button on the staff. Taryn pressed it, and the staff extended out.

"Gee, thanks Mr. Kilmartin!" Taryn hugged Bastion's leg.

"Kid, call me Uncle Bastion!"

"OK, Uncle Bastion!" Taryn went and started mock fighting with the staff.

"You think it's wise to give him that staff?" Ty asked his friend.

"Why not?" Bastion said. At that moment, Taryn knocked over a vase.

"BOYS!" Kendal, Taryn's mom, screamed from the kitchen. "What's going on in there?"

"Taryn, let's get out of here!" Ty and company made for the door, and left.

Taryn found himself clutching his staff. _Hope I can find my way back home._ He thought as he climbed into bed. _I hope they're alright._ He drifted off to sleep.

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	5. Never Again!

**Chapter 5: "Never Again!"**

It was a gorgeous day outside. As he wait for Gadget to finish the repairs to the D-controller (well, half of it, anyway), Taryn decided to bide his time with a little training. To keep in top physical, mental, and powered shape, he kept a strict training schedule, and he was overdue. Despite his injuries, he was going to train, especially since he hadn't been able to use his powers for a few days now. He had to find out what was wrong.

First was a little meditation. As a devout practitioner of multiple martial arts, Taryn is no stranger to meditation. Most lightning warriors practice meditation, but not to the extreme Taryn goes to. Usually, during any particular training session, he spends an hour or more in a deep meditative state. Nothing could break him from his trance, yet he is still fully aware of his surroundings. This kept his mind strong. Kept it strong enough to keep control over the darkness within him.

There are two kinds of lightning warriors: those of light, and those of darkness. Any warrior could choose either path they wanted, but he was different. He was _born _of darkness. His father was the greatest dark warrior ever, and he passed that down to his son. It made him strong, but it also passed down a fundamental weakness: a weak will. A susceptibility to influence. Susceptibility to primal impulses. If he didn't train his mind, he could easily be influenced to the side of evil. That is the reason he didn't like to kill. He feared he would continue to kill.

He thinks back to the first time he killed. It was back when his father first started to train him. It was an accident. He was training his energy shots. Working on an especially deadly maneuver called the "Dark Fury," one of his dad's signature moves. The first attempt was a dud.

"Concentrate, son." He could hear his father say. "Focus on collecting your energy. You need to focus. Concentrate."

"I'm trying, dad. But it's really hard." He was young, then. Fourteen and already working on advanced maneuvers. His father could not have been more proud. He was so proud that he invited a few guest along.

He held his hands to the air, concentrating on finding any latent energy in the air. Sparks began to appear near his hands. The power was intense, and it felt good.

"Wow, Ty, I'm jealous. You could have the next Warrior Tournament Champion on your hands, here." One of them said.

"What do you expect, he is the son of the Dark Master, you know!" Another commented.

_A tough legacy to live up to. _Taryn thought. _But if they wanted a show, by the Power, I'll give them one! _He began to concentrate harder. The sparks really began to fly, then. The guests stood there in awe, as Taryn charged up to take his shot.

"Son, relax! This is just practice! You're charging up to much energy!" His father yelled, but to no avail. Taryn brought his arms down to one side and sized up the target. "With that much power, you'll blow a hole clean through the backstop!"

But it was too late, Taryn had committed to the move. "DARK FURY!" He yelled as he extended his arms in front of him. A blast came out so big it shook the practice range to its foundations.

Suddenly, a man stepped in front of the blast. "THUNDER SHIELD!" He called up a shield, but it wasn't enough. The blast cut through it like butter. He had, however, altered the trajectory of the blast so that it would go harmlessly up into the sky. But the damage was done. The resulting shockwave of the blast breaking the shield knocked the man to the ground. After everything was over, some of the guests ran over to the man.

"It's the range attendant!" Screamed one voice.

"Quick, get help!" Another voice cried out.

"It won't help." Yet another voice said, hand on the attendant's neck. "He's dead."

Taryn just stood there. He knew he should feel bad, he just killed a man. But for some strange reason, he felt nothing. Nothing, that is, but pride. His morals butted against a raw feeling of pride for his actions. For the kill. Kill!

"Son! Are you alright?" Ty broke his son out of his little trance.

"Never!" Taryn said. "Never again, father!"

"What do you mean?"

"Never teach me energy blasts again!" Taryn screamed, tears in his eyes.

"But…" Ty approached his son.

"I can never kill again! Never again. Never again." He continued to ramble.

Taryn returns to the present. He opens his eyes to see Gadget's face mere inches from his own.

"Can I help you?" Taryn says jokingly.

"Just wanted to tell you I was done. Here you go." Gadget hands him the newly finished D-controller. The charred bits had been filed off, and were replaced by straps. There was a small battery attached to the other side, with wires leading to the digimetric capture device.

"What's with this?" He asked, pointing to the battery.

"Well, the battery that was on it was nearly drained, so I had to find a replacement. I'm sorry. I had to use your emergency power cell. It's a little crude, but it should work." She said.

"Well, let's hope so." He stood up, placing the device back on his arm.

"What were you thinking?" She asked.

"Oh, of my father." He responded. "My father and my time training with him."

"What's your father like?"

"He's a great man. Respected highly amongst our people." Taryn said. "He's a great hero in my dimension, along with my uncle."

"Golly, it must be a thrill to have such a great family."

"Well, it's not all that great. I have a reputation to live up to. It can be demanding. And sometimes, it's just too much."

"I didn't know." Gadget said, remorsefully.

"Hey, don't sweat it. I'll just do what I always do; to hell with what others think of me." He said. "Tell me about your father."

"He's a great pilot. Kind of like your dad, he's highly respected in the animal community. He helps a lot of folks around the world." She responded very proudly.

"Sounds like a great man…er…I mean, mouse. Where's he at?"

"He's out there, helping people." She said, looking to the sky. "He's been gone a couple of weeks now. I'm starting to worry."

"Hey, he'll be alright." Taryn put his arm around Gadget's shoulder. "I tell you what. If I ever get my powers back, we'll go looking for him. How's that sound?"

"You'd do that?" She looked up at him, a tear in her eye.

"Sure! You've taken care of me, it's the least I could do. Besides, I can't very well let my new little sister worry about her father, now can I?"

"Little sister?" She looked up at him, puzzled.

"Yeah. You remind me of my sister back home. Kind, sweet, intelligent, seems to read my mind sometimes. I figure, if I'm going to feel that way about you might as well make it official. So, now you're my new little sister."

"Thank you." She said, as she hugged him.

"No problem."

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-Somewhere in the Australian Outback-

A small airplane prepares for takeoff. Geegaw Hackwrench is running through his preflight checklist. He wears a flight jacket, scarf, and goggles and his plane is a golden twin-engine concept plane.

Another mouse, a kangaroo mouse in a safari hat and short sleeve safari shirt, walks up to him. "Hey, Geegaw, you ready to go?"

"Not yet, Jake. Still got to run through the rest of my checklist." Geegaw looked up from his clipboard. "Why, can't wait to get rid of me?"

"Nah, this bloke here was wondering if you could give him a ride." Jake pointed to the rather small but dark looking rat behind him. He wore a long black coat, and sported jet black hair.

"Sure, stranger." Geegaw turned towards the rat. "Hop on board."

The rat turned toward the plane and began to enter the passenger side. Geegaw turned toward Jake. "You know anything about him?"

"Nah. Just showed up a minute ago. I tell ya, he gives me the bonza willies, though." Jake said, shaking. "It's like he's made of pure darkness."

"Nonsense, Jake. You're imagining things."

"Whatever you say, mate. Just keep an eye on him. I wouldn't put it past him to get you into trouble." Jake said.

"Speaking of which, next time you see Monterey Jack, you tell him I got a bone to pick with him." Geegaw said as he continued to check the plane.

"You still mad about Zanzibar?" Jake asked.

"You're darn right!" Geegaw momentarily stopped his check of the propellers. "I barely made it out of there alive!"

"I'll give him the message." Jake said as he let out a small chuckle. "You tell Gadget Uncle Jake said g'day!"

"I will! Seeya Jake."

"Have a safe trip, Geegaw."

Geegaw had finished the preflight, and was ready to take off. He climbed into the pilot seat. The rat was already in the passenger seat. "What's your name, stranger?"

"I'm William DeMorue, and you must be Geegaw Hackwrench. Your reputation as a pilot precedes you." William said.

"Well, I'm honored by the compliment. Where are you headed?" Geegaw started to flip switches in the cockpit. The props started to turn.

"Mount Fiji, Japan. Is that too far?"

"Nah, it's on my way home. I can have you there in a few hours."

"Excellent."

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"Are you done training?" Gadget asked Taryn as he entered her workshop.

"Yeah. Still don't understand why my powers aren't working. Must have had something to do with the explosion." He said, scratching his head. He then took a seat on an empty stool. "What are you messing with there?"

"It's some kind of ocular device. I found it while scavenging yesterday." She held the device up to Taryn.

"That's my communicator!" He took it from her hand. "I must have lost it in the explosion! If it works, I might be able to contact home!"

"Oh, I guess you'll leave then, huh." She said, saddened.

"Did I not make a promise?" He said, hands on his hips. "I won't leave until we find your dad or he comes home. I might, however, be able to find out what happened to cause the explosion."

"Then, you might be able to find out what happened to your powers!"

"Exactly!" Taryn pointed into the air in a goofy pose. Gadget giggled. "Then, I can get my powers back, and we'll search for your dad."

"Well, what are you waiting for? Try it out!" She pointed to the device.

He put the communicator on his head and pushed a button to turn it on. There was some static on the line, but it seemed to work. He then proceeded to speak into the mouthpiece.

"Taryn to base, Taryn to base. Come in, over?"

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A lonely crow sat on a building ledge near the outskirts of the city. He had been flying all day, and was tired and felt defeated.

"I'll never find him! Master is going to kill me!" He said.

Suddenly, his communicator came to life. "Taryn to base, Taryn to base. Come in, over?"

Excited, the crow immediately scanned the sky with his ocular device for the origin of the signal. "Where are you?" He said to himself. His device locked on the signal due east of where he was. "Gotcha! A few miles, I can make it!"

He took off as fast as he could in the direction of the signal.

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	6. Traitor!

**Chapter 6: "Traitor!"**

"By the Power, Taryn? Is that you?" The voice over the communicator responded back. "Thank the Power you're alright!"

"Rez, is that you?" Taryn said back.

"Yeah, it's me. I'm here with your mom and dad. They've..." Rez got cut off.

"Where have you been, young man! I've been worried sick! Are you alright?" A lady's voice screamed over the communicator.

"I'm fine, mom. I got a little help from a new friend." He looked at Gadget, which caused her to blush. "Can I talk to dad?"

There was silence on the line for a moment, and then the line picked up again. "Hey, son. What's up?"

"Not much. Just blew up a few days ago is all." Taryn heard a loud thud in the background. "What was that?"

"You just made your mom faint."

"Are you guys on monitor?"

"Yeah."

"Good. Hold on." Taryn turned to Gadget. "Do you have a monitor around here?"

"There's one right over here." Gadget pulled out a small watch TV. "Will this do?"

Taryn took the headset off. He opened a small panel on the side and pulled out two wires. "You think you can hook these up to it?"

"Give me a jiffy." She said as she opened up the cover of the watch. She made a few connections with a small makeshift soldering gun. She turned the watch on. "All done."

"You're amazing, you know that?" Taryn said as he set the headset down in front of the watch.

The watch came on, and on the screen was a man. In the background was another man, tending to a fainted woman.

"Dad, you getting us?" Taryn asked.

The small speakers on the watch cracked a little, and then cleared up "Loud and clear. Who's that?" Ty asked, looking to Gadget.

"This is my little help."

"Gadget Hackwrench, pleased to meet you Mr. Corin-Johnston." Gadget said, giving a little bow.

"Please, call me Ty. Any friend of my son is a friend of mine." Ty turned back to his son. "I didn't want to mention this, but do you know you're a squirrel?" Just as he said that, Kendal looked up at the screen, and upon seeing her son, fainted again.

"Oh dear." Rez, the man at her side said.

"I noticed. That reminds me. A couple of days ago, the D-controller exploded, and, as you plainly stated, I got turned into a squirrel. What happened?"

"TIPA got attacked." Ty said gravely. "The mainframe and the archways all got bombed. We've got nothing."

"Do you know who?" Taryn asked.

"We caught a few lackeys that got left behind. They told us everything. The boss is a man by the name of William DeMorue, otherwise known as Lightneton."

"I thought Uncle Mike took care of him!" Taryn looked puzzled.

"We all thought so."

"But how did he get in? TIPA's a fortress."

"They had an insider."

"Who?"

Ty stood there silent. Then looked up with a shocked look on his face.

"It was me." A familiar voice sounded behind Taryn and Gadget.

"Chief?" Taryn turned to see the crow standing in the doorway.

"Yeah, ME, kid." The Chief said, a little cocky. Then, he looked to the screen and Ty. "Hey there, traitor! Surprised?"

"A little." Ty finally managed to say. "I guess I could call you the same thing, right Bastion?"

"NO! I AM NOT THE TRAITOR! I STAYED TRUE TO OUR MASTERS; YOU BETRAYED YOUR BROTHERS TO JOIN THOSE WEAKLINGS OF THE LWC." Bastion yelled, scaring Gadget. "You prefer to protect these meaningless mortals." He said, directing his attention to Gadget.

"YOU TOUCH HER, AND I'LL BREAK YOUR ARMS OFF AND BEAT YOU WITH THEM!" Taryn said, stepping between Gadget and Bastion.

"Don't let your father poison your mind, Taryn. We are superior. And these creatures are only here to serve us." Bastion said.

"You're wrong! We all have the right to live our lives." Taryn said, digging in his heals. "And my father isn't the poison, you are."

"Listen Taryn. Ever since the day I say you kill that attendant, I knew you had the potential to do great things." Bastion said. Gadget looked up at Taryn in a mix of shock and pity. Taryn closed his eyes and put his head down. "You could strike fear into the hearts of mortal men. But your father has taught you morality, and has clouded your mind from your true destiny. Join us, and I will teach you how to use your power to its fullest potential."

"SHUT UP!" Taryn screamed. "I WILL NEVER JOIN THE SIDE OF EVIL." He looked back up at Bastion. "As long as I'm still breathing, I will forever protect innocent creatures from destruction at the hands of morons like you and your master!"

"That look in your eyes. It's the same look your father had the day he betrayed our leader. It appears that there is no getting through to you. Oh well, I guess I'll have to take you out."

"You can try." Taryn got into a battle stance and prepared himself to fight.

"So be it." Bastion charged toward Taryn, screaming.

They locked up, neither one giving an inch. Taryn looked over his shoulder to Gadget. "GET OUT OF HERE! NOW!"

Gadget got up, grabbed the communicator and the watch ran for the door. Bastion watched her leave. "So, you do have feelings under that tough skin of yours. It's a weakness. I because of it, you will fall!" Bastion threw Taryn through a window in the front of the plane, and followed him out. Taryn sailed through the air for a few seconds before falling to the ground.

_I still don't have my powers. How can I fight him? _Taryn thought. _I'll have to coax him into going hand-to-hand._ He pulled out his staff and extended it to full length. "I bet you can't beat me without your powers!" He yelled to the charging Bastion.

"I can beat you without one of my hands." Bastion placed left wing behind his back. He swung at Taryn with his right fist, to have it immediately deflected by Taryn's staff. "But why risk it." Bastion swung his left fist around and landed a clean left hook to the jaw. Taryn flew across the small opening they were in and slammed into a vertical aircraft wing. The wing teetered a little, but remained vertical.

Taryn got up and looked at Bastion. He then looked at Gadget, who was watching as she hid behind another piece of airplane scrap. Bastion started to follow Taryn's gaze. _Crap! I gotta keep his attention! _"Hey! You've still got me to worry about." He charged Bastion and swung his staff, only to miss. Bastion retaliated by drawing his own weapon. It was a simple short sword. He swung, and his shot was deflected again by Taryn's staff. He followed that with another punch to Taryn's face, sending him, again, flying into the wing, which moved a little more, but again maintained its vertical stance.

"Gadget! What's going on?" Ty's voice rang out from the communicator.

"Taryn's in trouble. He doesn't have his powers! He's getting thrashed." She looked up, scared. "And now Bastion's coming for me!" Gadget responded as she struggle to pick up the equipment to run again.

Suddenly, a shot rang out from behind Bastion. It hit him in the shoulder, and he let out a cry of pain. He turned around, grabbing his shoulder. "How dare you! Shooting me in the back!"

"How dare you, pick on a defenseless little mouse." Taryn stood there, pointing his Thunder Blaster at Bastion, using hit staff to stand.

"I knew that decision would come back to haunt me." Bastion reflected. "But you of all people. Mister 'Never again!'?" He said mockingly.

"Well, I guess I lied."

"Well, prepare to be punished." Bastion charged up an energy shot, and before Taryn could even move, he fired. "THUNDER BLAST!" The shot left his hand and hit Taryn square on his chest, which caused him to drop his staff and blaster. The blast sent him back into the wing, which this time was hit with enough force to cause it to collapse and fall on top of Taryn. The crashing wing created a dust cloud that covered the entire fighting field.

Bastion walked up to the destroyed wing. "No sense in taking chances." He charged up another shot. Then he felt something hit his head. He recoiled a little, but immediately recovered and turned to his attacker. To his surprise he saw Gadget standing there with Taryn's staff in her hands.

"You leave him alone!" She said with a slight trembling in her voice.

"You know, you've got spunk!" Bastion reared up his hand and swung a mighty backhand which hit Gadget in the face, sending her flying across the field. "I hate spunk! Well, I guess I'll take care of you first." He approached a terrified Gadget.

"PURIFYING SHADOWS!" A voice cried out from behind Bastion. The shadow of night could not compete with the shadows that surrounded the busted up pile of wing. The shadow lingered for a few seconds, and then disappeared. The pile shook a little before it completely exploded. Shards of wing flew everywhere. A few hit Bastion, to which he started to defend himself against the onslaught. One headed toward Gadget. She cringed, but felt herself being picked up and moved quickly away.

When she opened her eyes, she saw Taryn placing her back on her feet. "You OK?" He said, looking at the bruise on her face.

"I'll be fine. How did you do that? I thought you lost your powers?" She asked.

"I did…well…sorta. It would appear that the explosion caused a total drain of my powers, rendering them useless. When Bastion hit me with his shot, at the last minute, I absorbed the energy." He danced a few sparks in his hand. He then placed his hand on the ground in front of Gadget. "LIGHTNING BARRIER!" He yelled, and a glowing shield grew around them. "You stay here. I have to finish this." Taryn left the shield, and charged Bastion.

Bastion turned to find Taryn charging. He immediately shot a few energy shots at Taryn, but Taryn dodged them easily. Taryn hauled up and hit Bastion with an uppercut, which sent Bastion skyward. Taryn flew up and followed Bastion.

"Golly, he really can fly!" Gadget commented at the spectacle. "YOU GET HIM, TARYN!"

Taryn shot a quick salute back at Gadget. He then turned his attention back to his foe. He got above Bastion, and crossed his arms in and X formation in front of his chest. Energy began to form in his arms, causing them to glow. "X-DIVE TACKLE!" He yelled as he turned down toward Bastion and started his descent. He made contact with Bastion halfway down, and drove himself and Bastion into the ground! A large dust cloud formed. Gadget watch with horror. Was her big brother alright?

A figure began to approach from within the cloud. As the smoke cleared, she could see it was Taryn. He gave her a quick thumbs up. She ran from the shield, and ran up to Taryn. She gave him a big hug. "You did it! You beat him."

"Yeah, I guess I did!" Taryn said, as he calmed down from combat mode.

As the smoke continued to clear, another figure stood in the crater. "We aren't done yet!" Bastion had survived the onslaught. He picked up his sword, and charged Taryn. Taryn turned around and charged Bastion. As he approached his enemy, Taryn slid between Bastion's legs. Bastion swung and missed, lodging his sword into the ground. As he tried to remove it, Taryn turned toward him, pointing his right arm at Bastion. "CAPTURE!" He activated the digimetric capture device. The light net encompassed Bastion, who, in horror, fought it off to his best ability. But it wasn't enough.

As he got sucked into the device, he let out, "I will have my revenge!" And he was gone into the device's internal tank. It shook for a few seconds as he struggle to escape, but it wasn't enough. The device ceased movement.

"Checkmate!" Taryn said to the device. Gadget approached a little concerned. "It's alright now. He's gone."

"What'll happen to him?" She asked, concerned all the more.

"When I go back, he'll face justice." He said, looking at the device. "I can't believe it. My mentor…my godfather…my friend…a traitor!"

"He had his own agenda." She said, looking at the device herself.

"But, he was right." Taryn said, putting his head down.

"How so?" Gadget asked, puzzled.

"When he was asking me to join him…back in the plane…a part of me wanted to."

Gadget approached Taryn, reaching up to square his eyes with hers. "Some people are truly evil. Not because of the impulses inside of them, but how they respond to them." She poked a finger into his chest, at his heart. "You are not evil. You have control over your impulses and do what is good. That makes you good."

"Thank you." Taryn said.

"Hey, what's going on?" A female voice demanded from afar.

"Uh oh. Mom's gonna kill me." Taryn said. "Where'd you leave the communicator?"

"Over here. Come on." Gadget ran toward where she left the communicator. Taryn followed.

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	7. Reminds Me of Your Sister!

**Chapter 7: "Reminds Me of Your Sister!"**

The Screaming Eagle landed at the base of Mount Fuji. Geegaw got out of his prized plane to help his passenger out with his bags. "Well, here we are. Mount Fuji, Japan. You know somebody here?"

"No, you could say I'm on a mission here." William said as he climbed out of the passenger side of the plane.

"Really? Could I be of any help?" Geegaw asked.

"Why, yes." William materialized his ax, and pointed it at Geegaw. In a sinister tone, he said "You could come with me and not cause any trouble!"

Geegaw immediately put his hands up. "Look, if you want money, I don't have any. If you want my plane, take it. Just don't hurt me."

"I don't want your possessions. They mean nothing to me." William said. "Your power is all I need."

"I don't have any power. I don't know what you're talking about." Geegaw pleaded.

"Of course you wouldn't. Just come with me, and I won't hurt you."

"OK, OK, I got you. I won't cause trouble."

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"Dad, you still there?" Taryn broke over the silence of the line.

"This is your mother. What happened?" Kendal said, a little angry.

"Checkmate." Taryn responded simply.

"Huh?" His mother said, thoroughly confused.

"That means he won, ma'am." Rez said.

"Oh thank goodness. You come home right now, mister." Kendal demanded.

"It isn't that easy." Ty said over the line. "Lightneton is still out there, looking for the key."

"What could you tell me about the key?" Taryn asked.

"We don't have much. Just that it's a pilot by the name of 'Hackwrench.'" Rez said.

"Oh no! It must be my dad!" Gadget said horrified. "We've got to help him!"

"We will. Right now!" Taryn said.

"Taryn." Ty said. "We can't send you help. You're on your own. Take care of yourself."

"I will, dad." Taryn said.

"And I'll take care of him!" Gadget interjected.

"Oh no!" Ty and Taryn said in unison. Taryn continued. "It's waaaaaaaay too dangerous."

"He's right. We can't risk your life." Ty added.

"It's my father this Lightneton is after." Gadget figuratively and literally put her foot down. "I'm going and that's final."

"Stubborn. Reminds me of your sister!" Ty said to Taryn.

"Tell me about it." Taryn said, and then turned to Gadget. "Fine. But when the action starts, you get out of there. Promise?"

"Promise." She said.

Taryn disconnected the communicator from the monitor and placed it back on his head. "We've got to find Lightneton. Climb on!" Gadget put her goggles down over her eyes, and got on his back. "Hang on tight; we've got to book it!" Taryn took off in a flash.

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"I would say that I am sorry for you being mixed up in this situation…" William began to say.

"But you really don't care, right." A chained up Geegaw said rebelliously. He was chained by both arms and legs to a runic tablet. They were in a strange cave, deep within Mount Fuji. He could feel the heat from the lava below, and could smell the sulfur. His whiskers twitched with fear. _I'll be damned if I show this jerk fear._

"Your courage is admirable." William said. "You are now chained to the Map of Corinth. Its scribed spell will, in combination to your powers of the Key, summon the Lock from the depths of your world. Once here, sadly for you, only your blood will open the Lock and grant me one wish, which I will use to revive my fallen master."

"Will you leave once you're done?" Geegaw said angrily.

"Yes. But sadly, your world will end." William said with a sinister look in his eyes.

"And I take it you really don't care about that, either? Jake was right, you are made of pure evil."

William ran up to Geegaw and got in his face. "I may be pure evil, but I am the one with all of the power, now aren't I?"

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"You sure he came this way?" Taryn asked Gadget as they walked up to the small airstrip's tower.

"Sure, I'm sure. Dad tells me where he's going every time he takes off." Gadget said as she walked up and knocked on the door. After a few seconds, the door opens.

"How can I help…Little Gadget! What are you doing here?" Jake asked, a little surprised.

"Hi Uncle Jake. Have you seen my dad?" She asked.

"He took off headed north with a last minute passenger 'bout five and a half hours ago." Jake said.

"Do you remember the passenger's name?" Taryn asked.

"It depends. Who are you, mate?" Jake fired back.

"He's a friend." Gadget said. "We really need to know."

"Some stranger named William DeMorue. Strange thing was he showed up asking for Geegaw, saying something like 'I heard he was the greatest pilot in this realm.' Strange sounding bloke." Jake said.

"Do you know exactly where they were headed?" Taryn asked.

"Didn't tell me." Jake said. "But I felt some right bad feelings 'bout that guy. I hope Geegaw's OK."

"If he's not…" Gadget started.

"Then I'll take care of him. You stay out of it." Taryn finished.

"You take care of her, mate." Jake said.

"You can count on it." Taryn said, and then looked to Gadget. "Let's fly!"

"What are you flying?" Jake inquired.

"Me." And with that, Taryn took off with Gadget on his back.

"Take care, Little Gadget." Jake said to himself.

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	8. By the Power! And I Brought Her Here!

**Chapter 8: "By the Power! And I Brought Her Here!"**

The ceremony began with William chanting strange cryptic spells from the tablet. He continued, starting to make signs in the air. He then cut his own hand with the knife he pulled out. He rubbed his hands, and placed one on his face, and another on Geegaw's, spreading blood. The tablet began to glow, as he started the summoning spell.

"ASANT UUS, ASANT UUS, DERO DE MALO!" The spell complete, he turned to the pit. Nothing happened. "NO! NOOOOO! NOOOOOOOOOOOO! WHAT WENT WRONG! I DID EVERYTHING RIGHT!" He turned to Geegaw. "YOU! YOU'RE NOT THE KEY!!!"

"I tried to tell you. But no, mister high and mighty wouldn't listen to me." Geegaw said.

"Well, that's bad for you." William said.

"How so?"

"Because now I don't need you." William punched Geegaw in the stomach. Geegaw doubled over, and an object fell out of his pocket. William picked it up. "What's this."

"No." Geegaw said weakly.

"A daughter. She will obviously follow in her father's footsteps. To become a pilot. Probably as good as her father." William continued. "A great pilot named Hackwrench. I think I have the wrong sized 'wrench." William chuckled. "You may be useful after all."

"YOU LAY ONE HAND ON MY DAUGHTER, I SWEAR I'LL…" Geegaw's excitement rose.

"You're not in the position to be making threats, now are you? Now, why don't you tell me where she is?" William said.

"Because I have a heart. And I don't want to see you hurt my daughter." Geegaw remained defiant.

"Fine, I'll find her myself." William said, charging a shot. "And you're worthless!" He fired a shot strait through Geegaw, who fell limp.

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Taryn and Gadget were now flying due north above Indonesia. It was just about dawn, and they had to find Geegaw before it was too late. Suddenly, Taryn stopped, and scanned the sky.

"I've got a signal!" Taryn said.

"What kind of signal?" Gadget asked.

"An energy blast!" Taryn became excited and concerned.

"Where?"

"Due north. Hang tight, I'm gonna try to go faster." Gadget tightened her grip on the squirrel, and Taryn hastened his flight speed as he flashed through the air.

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"Hmm. It would appear Bastion underestimated the little whelp." William stood at the mouth of the cave, facing south. "It looks like he may have found me. Curse my anger. I gave him my position…wait! He's carrying another life force with him. It seems similar to the pilot's. Maybe I don't have to look for her, after all. Those LWC fools don't realize what they've done. They've done the work for me." William laughed as he reentered the cave to prepare for visitors.

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"We're getting close." Taryn said. "It appears to be coming from Mount Fuji."

"Why would he want to go there?" Gadget asked.

"You need a place for the Lock to rise from the core. So, he chose a volcano. But why he chose Mount Fuji has even me puzzled." Taryn said.

"He needed a place where there would be little interference." Ty said over the communicator. "Since Mount Fuji is a long dormant volcano, he knew there would be very little going on there. Volcano studies aren't as active there as they are elsewhere. He could do his deed with little but a few thrill seekers to stand in his way."

"All the more reason to find him fast." Taryn said.

"Look! It's my dad's plane!" Gadget pointed to the spot on the ground where the Screaming Eagle sat.

"We should probably start there." Taryn slowly descended to the plane, landing mere feet from it. "It doesn't seem like there was a struggle."

"Lightneton is an imposing person. He probably would have scared Geegaw stiff. Or worse." Ty commented.

"You think he might be…" Taryn began to ask his father.

"Dead? Not likely. Lightneton needs him alive to perform the ceremony."

"Then I best start looking." Taryn turned to Gadget. "You stay here. I have to do this on my own." He placed a shield around her.

"But I can…" Gadget started, as Taryn threw a look back at her. "OK, I'll stay here. Be careful!"

"As always."

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"Perfect. He's leaving her alone." William said as he spied on our heroes. "This will indeed be too easy. I can fool the Key into leaving that pathetic excuse for a shield easily enough."

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Gadget sat there inside of the shield, now helpless as to the fate of her father. _I can help! I really can. _She thought. _But no! It's too dangerous._ _We can't risk your life._

Just then, a rustling of the bushes beside her startled her. She turned to see her father crawling from the bushes. He was badly hurt. She ran out of the shield towards him. "Dad! Oh my God! Are you OK?"

The half beaten Geegaw looked up at his daughter. "Now I am. Now that I know you are alright."

She hugged her dad tight. "Thank goodness you are alright. We need to get you out of here."

"No, wait!" Geegaw exclaimed. "Your friend is in trouble. Lightneton set a trap for him. He'll be captured for sure. We've got to help him."

"Right! Let's go!"

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Taryn reached the cave quickly. Upon entering the cave, he saw that it had been freshly dug. "Looks like Lightneton's handy work, alright." He walked down the dark cave, before he saw a light. He crept forward, and looked into the clearing, where he saw a ledge, which lead down to a lava pool. He also saw a runic tablet. He saw no sign of Lightneton, so he slowly entered the small room. As he approached the tablet, he heard breathing. It was raspy. He walked up to the tablet.

"Are…you a…friend?" The voice asked.

"I am a friend of all creatures except those who do evil." Taryn responded with a standard LWC greeting.

"Then you are a friend of mine." The figure looked up to reveal a mouse face.

"You must be Geegaw." Taryn said as he released Geegaw from the restraints. "Do you know where Lightneton is?"

"He left the cave in a hurry to look for Gadget." Geegaw fell when he was released into a slump on the floor. Taryn picked him up. "He kept calling me the 'Key,' but when his little ceremony didn't work, he punched me and I dropped her picture on the ground. He picked it up and said if I wasn't this 'Key' that maybe she was."

"By the Power, and I brought her here!" Taryn said, dejected.

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"He's this way." Geegaw said to his daughter. "We have to enter this cave."

Gadget had been in thought. She finally spoke. "Dad, how did you know what his code name was? Uncle Jake told me he only introduced himself as 'William.'"

"Because he is the greatest warrior alive, and everyone should know his name!" Geegaw said in a strange voice. He pushed Gadget away and stood straight up. A strange darkness enveloped his body, as he changed back into his true form.

"Lightneton!" Gadget said in shock. "What have you done with my dad?"

"Well, I was going to use him as bait, but he became unnecessary since that fool Taryn hand delivered you to me." Lightneton said with an evil smile on his face.

Gadget started to cry. "HOW COULD YOU? YOU MONSTER!"

"It was very easy. You should have seen how he begged."

"NOT MY DAD! HE WOULD NEVER BEG FOR HIS LIFE!"

"No. Not his, yours!" Lightneton picked Gadget up by her neck. She started to kick him, to which he slapped her in the face, knocking her out. "But enough reminiscing, we are here on business, my sweet." He turned, and continued on to the cave.

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"We'll find her." Taryn reassured Geegaw as they left the cave. "I left her in a protective shield. He can't…" Taryn looked up in horror. "Oh no!"

"Well, you are a strong one." Lightneton looked towards Geegaw. "Maybe I should have done a better job at killing you!"

"WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO MY DAUGHTER?" Geegaw demanded.

"Not to worry, she's alive…for now."

Taryn sat Geegaw down, and faced Lightneton. "You will not succeed, Lightneton. I know your plan. You plan on reviving Lightnetoid. I cannot allow that!"

"You are the son of that traitor, aren't you?" Lightneton put Gadget's limp body over his shoulder. "I see your lineage in your eyes. Defiant in the face of ultimate failure. It will be a pleasure to defeat Ty's only begotten son." He got into a battle stance.

"You can try." Taryn charged Lightneton, and was immediately tossed aside.

Lightneton turned toward Taryn's struggling form. "You don't get it, do you? You are nothing. Your uncle defeated me because he had help. No single warrior can defeat the mighty Lightneton."

Taryn stood, blood running down the side of his face. "I will!" He charged Lightneton again, only to be tossed aside again.

"You are an annoying little pest." Lightneton picked Taryn up. "Why don't you cool off?" He threw Taryn into the air. He then turned towards Geegaw. "You are going to watch." He picked up Geegaw, and proceeded into the cave.

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	9. Go, Gadget!  Save The World!

**Chapter 9: "Go Gadget! Save the World!"**

SPLASH!

Taryn landed in a lake. He lay there, floating towards the bottom. _How am I going to defeat him? He's too strong. Uncle Mike barely got him, and he's ten times as powerful as me._ He drifted off into a flashback from a few years ago.

"Son. What I'm about to tell you is something I should have told you years ago." Ty sat next to his son at a small campfire. "It has to do with that incident at the range six years ago."

"Not this again." Taryn said annoyed. "I know that some people won't listen to reason and have to be taken out."

"It's not that." Ty said, concerned. "Do you remember what you told me?"

"I'd never kill again." Taryn said.

"No, not that." Ty looked at his son. "You told me that you felt no remorse for your actions. That you knew it was wrong, but you still did not feel any emotions for it."

"Yeah, I remember."

"There's a reason for that."

"What?"

Ty looked down. "You have an extremely high rage. It's a monster that lurks inside of you. If it were ever to escape, you could kill a lot of innocent people."

"Are you sure?"

"I've been sure of it since the day you were born."

"WHAT?" Taryn stood up. "You've known that long, and you didn't tell me."

"I was afraid you'd freak out." Ty stood with his son. "I was afraid you wouldn't want me to train you."

"That's selfish. How could you do that to me?"

"You have a monster inside of you." Ty grabbed his son by the shoulders. "I couldn't just let you go untrained. You could have done horrible things."

"What if I still can?" Taryn looked down, and began to cry.

"That's the reason why I'm telling you this now." Ty picked up his son's head. "Look at you. You have instilled in you the compassion for the weak and the honor of morality. You could never do anything like that."

"So why mention it?"

"Because, now it's time to teach you how to use this power." Ty said proudly. "You are ready to tame the beast."

"What if I'm not?"

"I believe you are." Ty said. "Just remember. Don't go to this power too often. You could lose control."

"OK, dad." Taryn wiped the tears from his eyes. "Teach me."

"Take this." Ty handed his son a locket. Taryn opened it. Inside, there was a picture of his mother, his father, and his sisters.

"What's this for?" Taryn asked, puzzled.

"It's to help you remember who you are." Ty said. "If you ever begin to lose it, look at this, and it will cut through to the real you."

Taryn rose from the water. He was clutching something in his hands. He looked at it. _Thanks dad. _He thought. _For believing in me. _He then made for the cave.

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The ceremony had gotten under way. Geegaw sat in the corner, tied up. He could only watch helplessly as Lightneton chained a limp Gadget to the tablet. "You can't do this! She's all I have left!"

"In a few short moments, you won't have anything. Your whole realm will tremble as the mighty Lightnetoid rises!" Lightneton continued with the incantations. "ASANT UUS, ASANT UUS, DERO DE MALO!" With that, a great light shown from the lava pit. Quickly afterward, a sphere of light rose above the ledge. "The Lock! It's beautiful." Lightneton turned to Gadget, and held his knife above his head. "And now, I use the power of the Key to unlock thee. Grant my wish! Revive Lightnetoid!" He swung down.

SHUNK!!

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"NOOOOO!" Lightneton screamed as he discovered that he had stabbed Taryn instead. "But how? I defeated you!"

Taryn threw Geegaw the locket. He then turned to Lightneton. "You defeated that weakling shell. I am now your opponent." His fur bristled as he pushed Lightneton away from the tablet.

"WHAT?" Lightneton demanded. "Who are you? What are you?"

"Me?" Taryn cackled. "I am the one who will remove you from this world." He grabbed Lightneton's hands, still clutching the knife, and pulled them away from his chest. He then threw the evil warrior away. Lightneton dropped the knife on his way to the floor.

At this point, Gadget regained consciousness. She could not believe what she was seeing. Taryn began to glow red. He approached the knife, bent down, and picked it up. "Taryn!" She screamed. He turned to face her, his eyes glowing red, and started to walk toward her. "What are you doing? It's me, Taryn. It's Gadget!"

He reached the tablet, and drew up the knife. "Yes!" Lightneton said. "Do the deed for me! Either way, I still win!"

"No Taryn, this isn't you!" Gadget pleaded. "You don't want to do this."

"Of course I don't." Taryn said. His pupils reappeared. "Little sister." He then used the knife to slash the chains, freeing Gadget. She got up and approached Taryn, only to get the knife placed in her hands. "Get out of here, both of you."

"What about you?" She cried.

Taryn turned toward a now fuming Lightneton. "I don't matter." He began to slowly approach Lightneton.

Gagdet used the knife to free her father. He was now drifting in and out of consciousness. He had lost a lot of blood. She picked him up. "Come on, dad, we've got to go."

"None of you will leave here alive!" Lightneton yelled.

"They are not your concern anymore." Taryn said. "You have me now."

Gadget slipped out with her father. Lightneton turned toward Taryn. "It doesn't matter. I will destroy you, and then find her again and get what I want."

"Now, we can't have that, can we?" Taryn turned to the tablet, and blasted it to a million pieces. The Lock flashed, and then went back into the depths of the earth.

"NOOOOOO! CURSES!" Lightneton yelled. "I WILL DESTROY YOU, AND THEN I WILL CRUSH THIS WORLD!"

"You have to get past me first!"

They charged each other, and hit with a flash.

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Gadget had gotten Geegaw halfway down the mountain when she heard the explosion from within the mountain. She looked back with concern. "Be careful, big brother."

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Taryn drew his staff, as Lightneton drew his ax. The earth shook. "It would appear this mountain isn't dormant anymore."

"It is fitting." Taryn said, simply.

"I will thoroughly enjoy this." Lightneton said as he charged. He swung his mighty ax, only to have Taryn's staff deflect it into the ground. Taryn then swung his fist up and caught Lightneton on the right temple. Lightneton rolled a little before finally coming to a rest. Taryn plucked the ax out of the ground, and cast it into the lava pit. "Curse you! You'll pay for that!" Lightneton charged Taryn, only to have Taryn dodge to the right, sending Lightneton charging over the ledge. He began to fly over the lava pit. Taryn gave pursuit. The pit began to bubble up. As the earth shook, pieces of rock fell from the ceiling, which splashed into the pit, sloshing lava high into the air.

"You have no idea what you have gotten yourself into." Taryn said. "I am the destroyer of destroyers."

"You will not destroy me!" Lightneton fired back.

"We shall see." They both floated there for a moment, staring each other down.

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Gadget reached the Screaming Eagle with her father. She set him down in front of the plane, and looked at his wounds.

"URGH!" Geegaw let out a cry.

"You're going to be OK." Gadget said, with tears in her eyes. "I'll get help!"

"It's too late for that." Geegaw grabbed his daughter's arm. "I won't be around for long."

"Don't say that!"

"Oh, Gadget." Geegaw put his hand on her cheek. "You've grown up into a beautiful mouse. You are strong, and don't forget that." He looked up at the mountain. In the background, the battle could be heard. "He isn't. He needs you. You need to go help him find himself again. Take this." He handed her the locket.

"Dad."

"Without you, he will destroy this world." Geegaw said. "Go, Gadget. Save the world."

Gadget looked at her dad one last time, and then turned around and ran back up the mountain.

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The battle raged inside the volcano. With every hit the combatants landed on one another, they received one harder. The lava began to churn as the collapsing room and the splitting earth shook the mountain to its foundations.

"You are a worthy opponent." Lightneton said. "But you won't make it out of this mountain." Lightneton began to charge up an energy shot. He placed his hands above his head. Sparks began to fly around his hands. "I believe you know this one."

"I do." Taryn followed suit, and placed his hands above his head, and generated his own sparks.

"Who do you think taught this to your father?" Lightneton proclaimed, with a little pride. "Who knew it would come full circle like this."

"Shut up and fight." Taryn said, angrily

"Very well. I'll make sure to dismember your little friend…very slowly. Too bad you won't be around to see it." Taryn's rage aura grew. "Or maybe I'll take over this world. I'll keep her as my pet." Taryn's eyes glowed solid red. "You know, keep her in a cage. AND SLOWLY WATCH HER STARVE!"

"SHUT UP!" Taryn let out a guttural scream.

_Perfect. Lose it. He'll do the job for me._

They both brought their hands down to one side in unison. "DARK FURY!" They both screamed at the same time, placing their hands in front of them, and released their shots. The both hit, and immediately Taryn's blast ripped through Lightneton's and hit him with incredible force. It pushed him into the wall, and then continued through the mountain. The power of the blast blew a hole through the mountain. Lightneton laughed all the way to his destruction.

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	10. Mission Complete

**Chapter 10: Mission Complete**

Gadget got up to the cave, only to find the entrance had caved in. _Jeez, how do I get in now?_ As she thought that, a huge blast pierced a hole through the side of the mountain. She fell back onto the ground. "Golly!" She got up, and climbed up to the new hole. _This definitely leads to the inside, it's so hot. _Smoke billowed from the hole. She put her goggles on and entered the new cave. She struggled to maintain her balance, as she could barely see her hand in front of her face. She slipped, and began to slide down the hole. She fell into an open area and landed on the floor with a thud. She stood up and looked around. She was back in the chamber. She couldn't see anyone. "Taryn?" She yelled. "Taryn, are you here?" She stepped on something. She bent down, and found a piece of paper. It was a picture of her. It was her father's picture of her.

There was a thud behind her. She turned around and saw Taryn standing there. A feeling of relief fell over her. She began to run up to Taryn, but stopped when he looked up at her. His eyes were red.

"Taryn?" Gadget asked.

"No." Taryn grabbed her by the throat, and raised her above his head. He then pulled his other arm back and charged up an energy shot. A smile spread across his face.

"Taryn. Please don't do this. It's me, Gadget." Her words fell on deaf ears. He looked at her and chuckled a little. He was about to strike her down, when he spied an object in her hand. He looked harder. It was the locket. He could see the picture of his family back home. His father…his mother…his sisters…he then looked back at Gadget's now flush face. He let out a cry as he released his grip on Gadget's neck. She coughed as she fell to the ground. Taryn grabbed his head and spun around on his feet, screaming. The red aura began to shrink and his fur settled down. He fell to his knees and looked up. His eyes returned to normal, and filled with tears.

"Father!" He cried. "I'm sorry. Please forgive me. I wasn't strong enough."

Gadget rose to her feet, and ran up to Taryn. "Are you OK?"

He looked up at her. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to…"

"It's OK." She said. "As long as you're back now."

The volcano shook more violently than before. It was ready to blow.

"Come on! We've got to get out of here!" She said.

"No!" He pulled away from her. "I'm a monster! I almost killed you! I can't control it! Just leave me…"

SLAP

He felt the sting of her hand across his face. "SNAP OUT OF IT! YOU ARE A HERO, AND MY ONLY WAY OUT OF HERE."

He looked at her, and then looked around. The lava pit below began to rise. There was little time left.

"You're right." He said. "Come on." He slung her over his back, and made for the hole as the lava crested over the ledge. He flew fast, but the lava quickly gave pursuit. He flew faster, and made it through the entrance just as the lava spewed through it. At the same time, the top of the mountain blew. The explosion shook the entire island, and threw lava and ash into the air. Taryn flew with his precious cargo high into the sky.

"You did it." Gadget said, as they floated there, looking at the mountain. "You beat him!"

"No, we did it." He looked over his shoulder. "You did it."

They landed in front of the Screaming Eagle. Taryn set Gadget down. She immediately ran up to her father. He lay there, motionless. "Dad! Wake up!" She grabbed Geegaw by the shoulders and shook him. He did not respond. She began to sob, hugging her dad.

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One week passed. Taryn had almost fully healed his wounds. He suffered a stab wound to the chest, and reinjured his ribs in the fight. Though this time, he had his powers to assist his healing. He was drained, but could still heal faster than a normal human.

Gadget had flown her father's plane back. She also flew her father's body back in it. After a couple of days of grieving, she got up the courage to give her father a proper burial. She buried him next to her mother. It was a small service. Taryn joined her at the funeral, along with a few friends. They each had some good things to say about Geegaw. A mouse that did so much good for so many others, without a thought for his own well being, deserved nothing less.

A few days afterward, Taryn geared up to leave. He stood in front of the airplane, with Gadget in front of him. "It's now time for me to return to my dimension. I have a lot of explaining to do."

"I guess this is goodbye, then." She looked up at him, tears in her eyes. "Will I ever see you again?"

"Maybe." Taryn looked to his right arm.

"But I won't remember you, will I?"

Taryn looked at her, surprised. "How did you know?"

"Come on!" She said. "I'm a genius. One part that you won't tell me what it does. I put two and two together."

"You are amazing, you know that?" Taryn said. "Then you realize why I have to do this."

"Yes." She looked at him. "That's why I want you to have this." The handed him a package. "Don't open it until you get home."

He grabbed the package. "I won't."

"How do you plan on getting home?"

"They left the experimental jet just to the west of here. I scanned its tracking beacon yesterday." He said. "It'll get me home." He pulled the neuralizer from its socket. After activating it, two arms swung up from the sides. "I will always remember you for the both of us. You are destined for great things, just like your father."

"As are you." She said.

"That leaves one thing left to do." He held up the neuralizer. "Seeya, little sister."

"Goodbye, big brother." The neuralizer flashed, and Gadget stood in front of her home, alone.

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A hole ripped open in the sky. A black jet flew out of the hole, and flew toward a building. "Taryn to base. Come it, over?"

"We read you, Taryn. Welcome home." The flight controller guided him to the hanger. He flew in, and landed the small craft on the deck. The canopy opened, and the battle weary squirrel jumped out. He was greeted by his father, his mother, his sisters Jenn and Kate, and Rez.

"By the Power, you did it!" Rez said.

"No." The squirrel said. "We did it, me and Gadget. Let her name be forever remembered by the LWC as: Gadget Hackwrench, Hero!"

"It shall be done." Rez said.

"Are you ready to be human again, son?" Ty asked, waving a new D-controller in front of him.

"Yes." Taryn said.

Ty set the D-controller down in front of his son. Taryn took off his old controller, and holding it and Gadget's package in one hand, he placed his right arm into the massive D-controller. "DNA RECOGNIZED. TARYN CORIN-JOHNSTON." With that, the D-controller shrunk to fit his arm.

"Bio-controller, activate, human form." Taryn said, and in a flash of light, he grew to human size, and turned back into his normal form.

Kendal took one look at her son, and immediately fainted.

"What was that all about?" Taryn asked his father.

"Look behind you."

"Huh." Behind him, was a large squirrel tail. "Huh, what do you know."

"We can fix that easy." Rez said.

"Nah." Taryn said, stroking the fur of his new appendage. "I like it. It's grown on me." He laughed. "It followed me home. I think I'll keep it."

"Well, what do you plan on doing now?" Ty asked.

"Well, first, I'll hand you this, Rez." He gave Rez the beaten D-controller. "Get this to containment. Then I need to fill out my report."

"Don't worry." Rez said. "I took care of it."

"Well then, I'd like to go home."

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In his room, Taryn sat at his desk. He began to tear open the package. Inside, he found his locket. "I thought I lost this." He opened it, and saw his family. But he immediately noticed the new picture. It was of Gadget. "Huh, she must have slipped this in." He placed it around his neck. He then examined a bundle of papers. They had schematics of TIPA technology in it. He let out a chuckle as he flipped through the pages. He set them down, and picked up an envelope. It was address simply as "Big Brother." He opened it. Inside was a letter. He began to read it.

_Dear big brother,_

_When you read this, you should be at home. As you probably already know, I still have all of the stuff I wrote down about you. You didn't think I'd just sit by and give up my memories about you, did you? I did take out all of the stuff I wrote down about your technology, so I wouldn't be able to try and build it (you know I would try!). So don't worry._

_I also slipped a picture of me into your locket. I figured if I'm family, I might as well be in that locket with the rest of your family. Look at that if you ever forget who you are._

_If you're going through this as I think you would, you haven't seen what else I've given you._

He looked at the still open package. Sure enough, there was a pair of flight goggles in the bottom of the package. He let out a chuckle, before beginning to read again.

_Those were my dad's. He would have wanted you to have them. Please wear them, and remember him. _

_I hope I see you again, someday._

_Love_

_Your little sister, Gadget._

He laughed. "I hope so, too." He put the goggles on his head. "Here's to you, Gadget."

"Who is that, big brother?" A blond girl, who was about twelve, was standing in the doorway.

"This, Jenn, is Gadget." He turned to Jenn and stood up. "You want me to tell you about her?"

"Yeah!" He walked out of his room with his arm around his little sister, speaking of the little mouse that saved him from himself.


End file.
